In the limelight - The Sandhills Rodeo

Georgia TempleMidland Reporter-Telegram

Published 6:00 am, Tuesday, January 11, 2011

By Graham Dixon

Growing up in England, my view of America consisted of several television programs. First, there was "Dallas," second "The Dukes of Hazzard" and third, numerous old Westerns that were shown every Wednesday afternoon after I got home from school. Not, one might sensibly argue, a particularly accurate view of the United States, but the vision of larger-than-life figures striding, riding - and driving -- across an immensely large landscape, left an indelible impression.

It is optimism that runs through both the myth and reality of America. JR Ewing was supremely optimistic in thinking he could succeed by treating people so shoddily; Bo and Luke were optimistic as they leapt into cars without benefit of open doors - and the American people are optimistic in attempting to create a society in such an inhospitable, often brutal physical environment.

The current SandHills Stock Show and Rodeo -- at the Ector County Coliseum through Saturday -- presents this rose-tinted American view of the world. The pre-show setting is surreal - three brand new trucks are parked in the middle of the dirt at jaunty angles, with their hazard lights mysteriously flashing. Commercialization exudes from the whole evening - from these silent car dealership commercials to the beer brands emblazoned on the barrels used in the racing.

Drive this truck, drink this beer, wear these boots - and you will live out the myth of the cowboy. But beneath the glitz and often schmaltzy advertising of the rodeo lies an often spellbinding reality - we are watching men and women risking their lives for our entertainment.

The competition started with bareback riding. Here the cowboys stretched in almost impossible angles along the constantly changing sinewy backs of the horses. From a distance it seems like CGI -- but when you hear the bodies hit the ground, see the winces of disguised pain and observe the limping exit from the arena - you know it is all too real.

Bull riding is the pinnacle of rodeo. The first seconds after the chute is opened presents a seemingly suicidal situation, with the fragility of the human up against 2000 pounds of muscular, bovine anger. While the bull-riders are remarkably courageous, the bullfighters take bravery to a rarefied level. First, they faced 18 bulls in the course of just one night of rodeo. Second, they constantly place the lives of the cowboys above their own. Third, their skill enables them to come within inches and milliseconds of serious injury or death repeatedly, while also entertaining the spectators.

So by any standard Andy Burelle, Dusty Tuckness and Cory Wall are three of the most remarkable athletes you will ever get the chance to see. Yet they are nonchalant and modest in demeanor, as if it is all in a day's work.

A very different skill is exhibited by Australian Guy McLean, who rides one horse and somehow controls another three without any tackle in a delightful, fascinating show. McLean highlights the almost supernaturally close communication that can occur between man and animal. If such a thing is possible to gauge, the horses seemed to be greatly enjoying the show - almost as much as McLean and the spectators.

The rodeo would be worth seeing for these few minutes alone.

Near the end we were treated to barrel racing - perhaps the most traditionally exciting aspect of the show in a sporting sense. Young ladies race into the arena on horses at full tilt, round three barrels and then exit at an even faster pace. The impression is of a brief but scintillating invasion by the fair sex of the very male atmosphere inherent in rodeo. Their hair flows out from their cowboy hats in reckless loveliness as they ride with an expert abandon.

Various events featured children - including the hilarious, sweet mutton bustin in which 5-year-olds ride sheep in a wonderfully manic few seconds of exhilaration. The calf scramble featured scurrying teenagers attempting to corral uncooperative cows. Here was inspired, hilarious chaos. Calves would be apparently caught - only to miraculously scramble free. One young man was bravely dragged half way across the arena, tenaciously gripping his quarry's tail all the while.

So the SandHills Rodeo is well worth a visit - an optimistic evening of thrilling entertainment in which you glimpse skills and courage that are both rare and fascinating.